Thunder Strikes
Thunder Strikes is the second episode of the first season of Sudrian Stories. Plot Thomas' branch line was not doing well at the moment. Toby, along with Henrietta, Victoria, and Elsie, were all on the Mainland, thus the other Ffarqhuar engines had to do his work as well. But, it eventually became too much. Notably for Mavis. Mavis had to rush around the yard every day. It was hard for her to shunt all the quarry trucks, usually Toby helped. "This is way too much." She panted. Luckily, Bertie overheard Mavis' pleas for help, and when he came to Knapford, he informed Sir Topham Hatt. "Alright. There's a battery charging station, I shall send Stafford down there tomorrow." He said, and that promise was kept. The next day, Thomas, Percy, and Mavis all were called to Knapford, but nobody knew why. "I need to take the workmen to the quarry!" Mavis said. "This better be good." Thomas muttered, obviously impatient. Before Percy could rant as well, Winston and Stafford both pulled up, Sir Topham Hatt disembarked the former of the two. "I heard about the trouble you all were having, and I will be sending Stafford to the quarry." He said. Thomas, Percy, and Mavis all celebrated. "Thank you, sir!" Thomas exclaimed. Upon taking Stafford to the quarry, Mavis told Stafford what he had to do. The two worked quite well, shunting stone trucks around the quarry, and the duo kept them in order. "Alright, Stafford. It seems like you know what to do, and I need to go pick up some workmen. See you later." Mavis said, and then she left to get the workmen. Stafford smiled, "Bye!" he said. Stafford was doing well at the quarry, and Mavis eventually began to do all Toby's work, while Stafford his her's. One day, Thomas rolled into the quarry, and was shocked by how well maintained it was. "Wow!" Thomas exclaimed, shocked by the cleanliness. "Stafford, you sure do have a knack for shunting!" He said. Stafford couldn't help but blush. "Just doing my best." he reassured. As Thomas left, Mavis came in with two coaches. "Why do you have those?" Stafford asked. "The quarry's closing early, a storm's brewing." Mavis explained. "Finish shunting the trucks, and then get back to Ffarqhuar Sheds." "Yes ma'am!" Stafford said. The shunting took longer than expected, and by the time he was done, a storm was heading to the quarry. "Hurry up, we need to go!" Stafford shouted as he started. "We need to recharge, though." The driver said. "No time!" Stafford replied, he went as fast as possible, which wasn't actually that fast, to Ffarqhuar Sheds. But, the storm was really becoming strong, and suddenly Stafford stopped. "What's the matter, driver?" Stafford questioned. "We'll never make it, we're doomed." He replied. As Stafford sat in the storm, thunder and lightning surrounded him, and rain pounded against his face. The cool wind blew against him, sending a chill down his battery. Stafford was nervous. I hope they find me..., he thought. After an hour of waiting, a metal rod blew by and hit Stafford in the face. "Ow!" He groaned, but then noticed what hit him. "Driver, get that rod!" Stafford's driver grabbed the metal rod. "Why do we need this?" He asked. "Attach it to my battery, it lightning hits it, my charge will be full!" Stafford cheered. "You are a smart engine!" The driver added. When the rod and battery were connected, Stafford and his driver waited. The two sat there awkwardly for at least three hours. "I told you, we're doomed!" Stafford's driver dreadfully moaned. "We can't just give up." Stafford said. "Yes we can! We can wait until tomorrow." "No! We won't! If you're confident, you can do-" Before Stafford could finish his sentence, lighting hit the rod, and Stafford's engine sputtered, but he then started to move. "How?!" Stafford's driver shouted. Stafford laughed. "I knew we could do it!" He said. Little did he know, a tree was loose, and when he got close, the tree fell right in front of Stafford. "Well, should we just go back to the quarry?" Stafford asked his driver. "Yeah." His driver said. The next morning, Thomas and Rocky pulled into the quarry. "Stafford? Where are you?" Thomas asked. Then, he saw a familiar electric engine, under a shed that had collapsed on top of him. "A little help?" Stafford pleaded. Soon later, Rocky lifted up the shed, and Thomas got ready to couple up to Stafford. Stafford chucked. "No need for that! My battery's near full!" Upon returning to Ffarqhaur, Percy, Toby, Mavis, and Sir Topham Hatt were all waiting for Thomas, Stafford, and Rocky. Sir Topham Hatt walked up to Stafford. "Well done, Stafford! Your quick thinking saved you from being exposed to the elements all night! You're a really useful engine." "Thank you, sir." Stafford said. "However, as Toby has returned, I'll have Percy take you back to Knapford. But, I'll make sure to bring you back if Toby or Mavis need help." Sir Topham Hatt continued. Percy coupled up to Stafford. "Let's go, Stafford!" Percy cheerfully said as he pulled the electric engine to Knapford. Thomas, Toby, and Mavis all said their goodbyes, and Stafford felt proud of himself, he learned that he wasn't just really useful, but really resourceful. Characters *Thomas *Percy *Mavis *Stafford *Sir Topham Hatt *Toby (Does not speak) *Rocky (Does not speak) *Bertie (Does not speak) *Henry (Cameo) *James (Cameo) *Neville (Cameo) *Timothy (Cameo) *Annie and Clarabel (Cameo) *Henrietta (Mentioned) *Victoria (Mentioned) *Elsie (Mentioned) Trivia *The episode was originally meant to be released on June 26th, following the original "Every Monday and Thursday" schedule. However, when that was cancelled, it resulted in Thunder Strikes being released early. *Early scripts had Daisy in it, but this contradicted the fact that she worked on the Arlesburgh-Harwich Branch Line, thus she was removed. *The original plot had Sodor running out of coal, so Stafford had to pull the mail trian and got stranded. *Thunder Strikes was actually planned to be a lot darker, similar to Steamie Stakeout, but TheLocoLover decided to make a light-hearted story instead. Category:Sudrian Stories Category:Episodes Category:Sudrian Stories Episodes Category:Sudrian Stories - Season 1